Price card holder



June 13, Wm H. J. FREDERICKSON 3,324,585

PRICE CARD HOLDER Filed Nov. 12, 1964 flrromw s 3,324,585 PRICE CARD HOLDER Minm, assignor to Mind, a corpora- This invention relates generally to card holders, and pertains more particularly to a holder to which a price card or the like can be clipped in conjunction with the displaying and selling of merchandise.

One object of the invention is to provide a card holder which will firmly retain a price card or the like therein, yet allowing the card to be readily released when another one is to be substituted therefor. Hence, an aim of the invention is to provide a clip-type holder that will firmly grip the card, the provision of a sufficient degree of positive locking thereof holding the card straight so as to present a neat appearance and at the same time discouraging the removal of the retained card by children.

Another object of the invention is to provide a card holder that will be exceedingly versatile. In this regard, it is planned that the card may be held at any preferred angle in the holder. Thus, if for any reason it is not convenient to mount the holder in a particular direction, compensation can be made by merely inserting the card at an appropriate angle With respect to the holder. As a matter of fact, it is intended that the holder can be used in an inverted relaionship, thereby permitting the card to be either suspended or held in an upstanding relationship as best suited to the particular circumstances at hand.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a resilient card holder that lends itself readily to facile fabrication. More specifically, it is contemplated that the resilient clip be spot welded to the anchoring member and provision is made for accomplishing this in a simple and straightforward fashion.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a card holder that will be sturdy and which Will be capable of continued use through many years.

Another object of the invention is to provide a card holder than can accommodate items of varying thickness Consequently, the holder can be used for firmly retaining advertising leaflets, pamphlets and other items which are to be displayed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a card holder that can be manufactured at a relatively low cost, there-by encouraging its widespread use in stores of various types, especially supermarkets.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will more fully appear from the following description, made in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of my card holder in actual use;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken generally in the direction of line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view resembling FIGURE 2 but with one of the panel portions of the resilient clip being flexed outwardly so as to permit the insertion of a card that is to be held;

FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view of our holder as shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a rear elevational view of the holder appearing in FIGURE 1 but with portions of the channel member broken away so as to show to better advantage the constructional makeup of the holder, and

FIGURE 6 is a side or end elevational view taken from the right in FIGURE 5.

3'73 24)585 Patented June 13, 1967 Referring now in detail to the drawing, our card holder has been denoted in its entirety by the reference numeral 10, the parts comprising the holder 10 being preferably formed from resilient sheet metal, although in some instances an approapriate plastic material could be utilized. The card holder 10 includes a clip member composed of a pair of panel portions 12, 14 and a connecting bight portion 16. The clip member has suflicient inherent resiliency so that the panel portions 12, 14 are normally biased into a confronting relationship with each other as shown in FIGURE 6.

The panel portion 12 contains a pair of apertures 18. In registry with the apertures 18 are lances or teeth labeled 28, there being one such lance associated with each aperture 18. The apertures 18, quite obviously, can be readily stamped and by the same token the lances 28 can be stamped and bent so as to project into the apertures 18 in the normal condition of the clip member when no card is held therein, such a condition being depicted in FIGURE 6.

The panel portion 14, this being the one on which the lances 28 are integrally mounted, contains apertures 30 located between said lances 28 and the bight portion 16. The purpose of the apertures 30 is to allow spot welds 32 to be formed, the spot welds securing a channel or anchoring member 34 to the rear side of the panel portion 14. The channel or anchoring member has a pair of oppositely issuing flanges 36 in the illustrated instance which are intended to engage appropriately configured grooves formed in a molding strip 38. In actual practice, the molding 38 is suitably attached to the forward edge of a shelf, such as conventionally found in grocery supermarkets. In the pictured instance, only the sheet metal shelf facing labeled 40 appears in FIGURES 1-3. However, other means for orienting the clip member may be utilized, as will be appreciated.

It is envisaged that the invention will find its greatest utility in the mounting of price cards and therefore such a card has been designated by the reference numeral 42 in FIGURES 1-3. In FIGURE'B, a persons finger 44 appears and it will be discerned that the panel portion 14 is readily flexed away from the panel portion 12. To facilitate this, the free edge thereof is farther from the bight portion 16 than is the free edge of the panel portion 12. Thus, the panel portion 14 can be easily manipulated into a divergent relationship with the panel portion 12, thereby allowing the card 42 to be readily inserted or slipped between said portions 12, 14.

When the panel portion 14 is released, it springs toward the card 42 and the lances 28 immediately spear or impale the card so as to retain it firmly within the holder 10. Not only do the lances provide the firm retention that is desired, but the bight portion 16 also contributes. In this way, the card 42 is held in a truly vertical relationship as shown in the drawing, the bight portion 16 serving as a bottom stop during the insertion of the card. Of course, should the holder 10 not be properly oriented, the card 42 still can be held correctly by merely allowing the lances 28 to pierce the card at the appropriate locations, thereby compensating for any tilted relationship of the holder.

One feature of the invention, however, is that the card 42 need not be retained in an upstanding relationship, this being the relationship that has been illustrated, for the entire holder can be inverted from the position shown so that the card 42 is suspended or depends downwardly from the holder. Stated somewhat differently, the bight portion 16 can be uppermost rather than lowermost and the lances 28 exert a sufficient retentive action by reason of the impalement of the card so that it will not be inadvertently dislodged.

Of course, one of the attributes of the present invention is that no matter which way the holder is oriented, it

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangements and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of our invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed:

1. A card holder comprising a reversely bent resilient clip member forming first and second confronting panel portions normally biased toward each other and a connecting bight portion, the first panel portion having a pair of laterally spaced apertures therein spaced from said bight portion and the second panel portion having a pair of laterally spaced lances thereon normally projecting into said apertures, whereby said second panel portion can be flexed relative said first panel portion to allow one edge of the card to be held to be placed against said bight portion and said lances to impale said card when said second panel portion is released.

2. A card holder in accordance with claim 1 including a member affixed to the outer face of said first panel portion for anchoring said clip member in an oriented position during use.

3. A card holder in accordance with claim 2 in which said clip member and anchoring member are of sheet metal with said second panel portion having a pair of apertures disposed between said bight portion and said lances, and said first panel portion having a pair of spot welds securing said first panel portion to said anchoring means, said spot welds being aligned with the apertures in said second panel portion.

4. A card holder in accordance with claim 3 in which the free edge of said second panel portion projects beyond the free edge of said first panel portion to facilitate flexing of said first panel portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,701,770 2/1929 Canine 23 1,814,436 7/1931 DeSaussure 40-23 2,624,088 1/1953 Zuckerman 4023 X 3,091,875 6/1963 Crafa 4011 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

W. J. CONTRERAS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CARD HOLDER COMPRISING A REVERSELY BENT RESILIENT CLIP MEMBER FORMING FIRST AND SECOND CONFRONTING PANEL PORTIONS NORMALLY BIASED TOWARD EACH OTHER AND A CONNECTING BIGHT PORTION, THE FIRST PORTION HAVING A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED APERTURES THEREIN SPACED FROM SAID BIGHT PORTION AND THE SECOND PANEL PORTION HAVING A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED LANCES THEREON NORMALLY PROJECTING INTO SAID 